My Brother's Best Friend
by MaslowLuver
Summary: Ally has been in love with her brother Mitch's best friend, James Diamond for a long time. James is beginning to realize how much he actually cares for her. Will they work up the courage to tell each other how they feel? Not based on BTR characters.
1. Chapter 1 Ally's POV

1-Ally

I stood staring at him, breathless. The sun was just going down, right above the water. It was absolutely silent, except for the sounds of the constant crashing waves on the beach a few yards away from us.

James was staring up at me with his chocolate-brown eyes. He was down on his knee, in the traditional position, and his arm was outstretched in front of him, with his hand holding a tiny black box with the glittering ring, inside.

I couldn't say anything. This was so…unexpected. I kept looking in his eyes, wanting with all my heart to say yes, but I knew that I couldn't. If we were a little older, there wouldn't be a problem. But since he was a junior and I was a sophomore…I knew it wouldn't work. I had to say something, fast, because I knew he was waiting. Waiting for me to say yes.

But suddenly, a voice called out, "Ally? Come on." I darted my head around, searching for the owner of the voice, but there was no sign of anyone, except for James and me.

Again, the voice called out my name. Where could it possibly be coming from? And who was calling me? What was going on?

"Ally?" the voice repeated. "Earth to Ally." I quickly focused my eyes on person in front of me. "What, Mitch?" My brother was standing up, in front of me, with a shocked expression on his face. The weird look quickly evaporated, and he said, "Are you coming, or not?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Coming where?" he groaned in frustration. "To the football practice? School's over, now, and you told me that you wanted to come with."

I nodded slowly, remembering. "Oh, right. Yeah, let's go." I shut my locker, which had apparently been left open, with me just standing there.

The whole proposal-thing had all just been another one of my daydreams. I let Mitch lead me to the football field as I tried to figure everything out.

You see, James (the guy in my dream) was my brother's best friend. They had been besties since the 1st grade, and here they were, now, both juniors in high school.

I had developed a crush on James when I was in the 7th grade, and he was in the 8th. Before that, I had only seen him as my brother's best friend, and only that. But then, suddenly, I had all of a sudden seen him as…really hot.

My daydreams definitely aren't a new thing, for me. Ever since I had started thinking of James, differently, I had been having those dreams. But a proposal was definitely a new one. I had only just dated James in my dreams, but never had he actually proposed.

As I thought more about that dream, I realized that Mitch and I were just walking outside, onto the field. Mitch left to go to the guys' locker room to change, and I headed straight to the bleachers.

The only reason I was here was to see James, in case it wasn't obvious. He and Mitch had decided to try out for football this year, and somehow, they had made the team!

Mitch had been very curious as to why exactly I had wanted to go to a practice for the first time, suddenly, but I had told him, "Can't a girl go to support her older brother?"

He hadn't believed me, and still didn't, I know, but he didn't really do anything about it. He just took me with him, this time, with hardly any words. I was glad he hadn't tried to stop me.

While I was thinking about all of this, I noticed the football team start to file out of the locker rooms. I quickly began to scan the group for James.

I finally came across his flawless face, and I felt myself smile. He jogged up to Mitch, whom was leading the group toward the center of the field.

Several of the players noticed my presence once they were in the middle, and they began to talk to each other, glancing at me every now and then.

James hadn't seemed to notice my presence, yet, but he would soon, I hoped. I didn't want him to like, stare at me the whole time, but it definitely would be nice if he smiled at me a little, or something.

I turned slightly in my seat, getting a better view of the team. I was going to be here for about an hour, so I might as well get comfortable.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright...1st chapter, done. All reviews are appreciated and encouraged (= Tell me what you think, so far.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2 James' POV

2-James

"Be right back, buddy," Mitch said to me, and jogged up to the coach. Shrugging, I switched my attention toward the others, and noticed that they were being extremely secretive. I raised an eyebrow, curious, now, and walked toward Tyler.

"Hey, man…what's going on?" I asked him, not taking my eyes off of Chad and Ben, whom were whispering things at each other and chuckling. "Dude…it's that girl!" was all Tyler said. He was grinning widely, like the idiot he was. I stared at him as if he were crazy. "What girl, man? Who are you talking about?"

"There's this girl that is in several of my classes," Tyler began to explain. "So I see her a lot. I don't know a guy that isn't crushing on her."

I sighed; frustrated that he hadn't told me who the girl was, yet. "Well? Her name?" Tyler shrugged. "We don't know her name, yet…but look! She's freaking right up there!" He motioned toward the bleachers.

I slowly turned my head to see the dream-girl, and my mouth dropped open when I saw who they were talking about. "That's _Ally!"_ I exclaimed with much surprise.

Tyler, along with a couple of the other guys, whipped their heads at me. "You _know_ her?" They asked in disbelief.

I let out a single laugh, and said, "Sure do! Ally, right there, is Mitch's little sister!" Everyone stared at me, very much surprised. "That hottie is Mitch's sister?" Jarrett asked me.

As soon as he used the word "hottie" to describe Ally, I felt something inside me snap. I suddenly was feeling over-protective, and I just felt obligated to protect Ally while Mitch wasn't there to hear what was going on.

Before I felt like exploding, I quickly got everything back under control. Instead of yelling, I asked, "So, uh…you guys like her, huh?" Ben laughed loudly. "James, that's a pretty dumb question. I mean, who _doesn't _like her? Oh wait—Mitch doesn't!" All of them burst out laughing, then, and I rolled my eyes.

I looked back at Ally, quickly, and gave her a good observation. I had never really thought about it…but she actually wasn't that bad looking. No wait-she was more than that—she was actually kind of beautiful!

Why hadn't I noticed it before? Mitch just introduced her to me as "my little sister, Ally", and that was how I took her as. But now…I was seeing so much more!

She was thin, but not too thin…she had wavy red hair that fell a few inches past her shoulders…and she was like the perfect height. I could have gone on, but it was then that I realized what I was doing. I was doing exactly what the other guys were doing. And when I remembered that they liked her that _really _ticked me off.

"Oh, cool it, guys, Mitch is coming," Jarrett quickly muttered, and they all straightened themselves out. I was actually glad that Mitch was coming back. I don't think I could take anymore swooning over Ally.

Mitch came up and asked, "Hey, what's going on?" Everyone just shrugged, looking at each other. It was obvious that they were hiding something from him, but he didn't seem to care. And he really didn't have time to, because the coach was coming over.

"Ok, boys, let's go!" he said, and we got into our positions. I wasn't quarterback, thankfully, because I didn't think I could have been able to concentrate very well. I kept finding myself sneaking peeks at Ally, and that bothered me.

I didn't want to think of Ally anymore than Mitch's little sister. I just needed to focus on the game. I took a deep breath, shook myself out, and returned my attention to the game.

"There ya go, Kingston!" the coach shouted at me. "That's what I'm talking about!" I nodded to myself and kept going, holding off the guys of the opposite team.

"JAMES!" I heard Mitch call. I looked at him, and noticed that he had the ball. I nodded at him eagerly, and he threw it—hard. I began to run until I was right under where the ball was going to land. The ball fell into my hands, but I didn't stop running. I heard people running after me, but that didn't shake me at all.

As I ran, I quickly looked back at Ally. The look on her face was all I needed to let out that extra burst of speed, and I at least reached the touchdown.

The guys who had been on my team cheered and I slammed the ball against the hard ground. The coach was nodded at me in approval, and I quickly looked back at Ally. She was beaming at me.

"Amazing," Coach told me as I jogged over to get some water. "I knew you were good, James. But…wow. Nice job. Keep up the good work!" I wiped some sweat from my forehead. "Thanks, Coach." I drank some water from my water bottle, and Tyler, Ben, and Mitch came over, patting my back. "Nice, man," Mitch said to me. "Hey, your throw was pretty epic," I replied, smiling at him.

"Mitch…" Ben said suddenly, looking at him. "Is your sister coming with us for pizza, after?" I knew what Ben was thinking. Even if Mitch wouldn't ask her, it was obvious that Ben would. Just thinking about it made me clench my jaw.

"Oh, uh…I don't know, man. I didn't invite her," came Mitch's response. "Oh," was all Ben said after that, and we got back into our positions. I fought the urge to hit him, but with much difficulty. I couldn't let them have Ally. And I wouldn't.


	3. Chapter 3 Ally

3-Ally

I had never known that James was so great at football. Of course, it would have been surprising if I _had _known…this _was _the first practice I had ever gone to see.

The practice went on, and I watched James practically the entire time. Several times, I thought I had seen him looking up at me, but I must have been daydreaming, again. James could never like me for _real_. That was like, so impossible. He was an incredibly good-looking junior while I was just some lowly sophomore.

As I thought about James more and more, time snuck by. When I looked up, I realized that the practice had ended. I stood up and started to make my way to the field to meet up with Mitch.

I felt many of the players' faces glancing at me, but I didn't look at any of them but Mitch and James, who were talking. "Oh hey, Al," Mitch greeted me as I approached them. I smiled slightly, and James' face turned toward me. His chocolate eyes found mine, and I felt like fainting, but I didn't, thank God.

"Hey, nice job out there," I said to James, sounding surprisingly confident. James smiled at me, making me feel even fainter. "Thanks, Ally."

Mitch sighed, sounding a little annoyed with me. "OK, so um, Ally, I guess you'd better get home, now." I nodded slowly, and sadly. I _really _didn't want to leave, yet.

James looked at Mitch as if he was going to say something, but no words escaped his beautiful lips. "Whoa, wait, Mitch," a voice said from behind him. Both James and Mitch turned to see who was talking.

The guy was really tall, and he had a deep voice. He smiled at me, and then looked at Mitch. "Don't just shoo her off, like that," he said. I cocked my head at him, and asked, "Um…do I know you?"

The guy returned his gaze to me, and I blushed a little. "I'm Tyler." I shook his hand awkwardly, and I replied, "Oh…hi. I'm Ally."

"Well, Ally," Tyler said, not taking his eyes off of mine. "Would you like to join us for pizza?" Mitch quickly interrupted, "I don't think that would be a very good idea, Tyler." I was getting quite irritated with my brother, by now, so I decided to accept Tyler's invitation, just to get back at Mitch. Besides, this gave me another excuse to hang with James.

"I'd _love _to come," I said, looking right at Mitch as I said it. He glared at me, while Tyler was beaming. "Great! We're heading to the Pizza Factory right after we change. Do you need a ride?"

Not two seconds after Tyler had asked me, James jumped in, "I could take her." Mitch looked over at James as if he had betrayed him.

I swallowed, feeling even closer to fainting, now. But before I could answer, Mitch said, "I'll take her, she's _my _sister." The others seemed to back off, and I sighed with disappointment. I had sincerely hoped that James would take me.

"Whatever man…I'll see you there, Ally." He smiled at me once more, and then he turned and left. James looked at me, and then went to follow Tyler, and my heart stopped for a moment.

Mitch looked at me before joining them. "We need to talk…when we drive there. Meet me at my car." I gulped and nodded. Something told me that this "talk" I was going to have with my brother was not going to be the most pleasant experience.


	4. Chapter 4 James

4-James

I turned my locker combo, silently. I was trying to process what had just happened. My invitation to take Ally to the Pizza Factory had been kind of forward, of me. It had escaped my mouth before I had been able to think about it.

Frankly, I was feeling pretty upset that Mitch was taking Ally there, even if he was her brother. But in a way, I was kind of glad. I mean, what would she and I talk about the whole time? The ride was almost ten minutes long!

Mitch still hadn't entered the locker room, yet, so Tyler took his chance and announced that he had invited Ally. "Dude! That's awesome!" Ben beamed, brightly. "What's she like?" Jarrett asked, interestedly.

"She's _really _sweet," Tyler replied, and I clenched my fist, but I still stared inside my locker. "Nice!" Chad said, pounding Tyler's fist with his. Suddenly, Mitch burst through the door, and I sighed with relief. I didn't think I would be able to handle the guys talking about Ally, anymore.

"So, your sister's coming?" Jarrett asked Mitch as a few of us began to change. "Yeah, I guess. I wasn't planning on it, but _someone _had to invite her," Mitch muttered, glaring at Tyler.  
>"Hey," Tyler said defensively. "I was just being my friendly self!" I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Yeah, you're stupid, annoying self." Tyler whipped his head in my direction, and quickly snapped, "What was that, James?"<p>

I looked at them and shrugged innocently. "Oh, nothing. I was just saying that we had better hurry. I'm starving." Tyler seemed to agree, and I sighed again with relief. That had been way too close.

We quickly finished changing, and we all made our way out of the locker rooms and to the parking lot. As soon as we arrived at our cars, I saw Ally leaning against Mitch's.

"Alright, meet you guys at the Pizza Factory," Ben said as soon as we all gathered. We all got into our vehicles, and I snuck a final look at Ally before I hopped in. Why on earth did she have to be so beautiful?


	5. Chapter 5 Ally

5-Ally

"Alright…get in," Mitch ordered me, and I silently obeyed. I sighed, wondering what Mitch might say to me. Judging by his rudeness, he definitely was not in a very good mood. And that did not lead to happy thoughts.

He quickly got in, himself, and started the car almost immediately after he was buckled. We pulled away from the school, and I sighed again. Mitch glared at the road as we drove, and it was quiet. Too quiet.

At last, I couldn't take the silence anymore. "Well? What did you want to talk about?" I almost shouted at him. He looked at me, then back at the road. "About my friends," he said, surprisingly calmly. I nodded, and waited for him to continue.

"Frankly, I really was not planning on you coming to pizza with us, tonight," he said. I clenched my jaw, slightly. "Neither did I…" Mitch tapped his fingers quickly against the steering wheel. "I know. Tyler was…well, he was way out of line to ask you."

I bit my lip, holding back my anger. Instead of telling him off, I nodded slowly. Mitch quickly went on, "Football is supposed to be _my _thing, Ally. Not yours. These guys understand me! They're my friends. I already share a lot with you. Why can't these guys be the one thing that I _don't _have to share with you?"

My mouth dropped open. Ok, that was it. My brother couldn't get away with saying something like that, and have me remain calm. "Wow, Mitch. Seriously!" Before he responded, I kept going.

"I just got a freaking invitation from one of the guys to go get pizza. I accepted! What is so wrong with that?" Mitch tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, impatiently. "Lots of things! Like I said before, these guys are my friends. You don't even know them! Why would you even accept an invitation to go someplace with strangers?"

I rolled my eyes, irritated. "They are not strangers, God, Mitch. You hang out with them, for crying out loud! And it's not like I would be there alone! And I know James!"

Mitch shook his head, angrily. He and I have had fights in the past, but I don't remember ever having one this bad.

I clenched my teeth and stared at the road. I knew I wasn't going to get my way, yet again. Mitch _always _got his way. "Look…I don't care. Just take me home. Then you can have your little friends, all to yourself."

Mitch's face instantly lost its anger, I noticed, and he quickly made a right turn, in the direction of our house.

I couldn't believe this. Shouldn't my older brother be the one giving in? At least every once in a while? And he didn't even look sorry! Actually, he looked pretty happy, now.

I didn't care, I was already looking forward to my nice, inviting room. I felt like crying. The only good part about all of this was being able to see James, at least for a little while.

We arrived at our house shortly after, and he pulled up to let me out. I cleared my throat, because I was already getting choked up. "Have fun," I squeaked out, frustrated, and then running into the house. As soon as I slammed the door shut, I heard Mitch drive away.

I ran directly to my room and slammed my door shut. I immediately jumped onto my bed, and buried my face deep into my pillow.

This was unbelievable. I couldn't believe how selfish and unfair Mitch had been. Never had things been so bad, between us. He had never been so…horrible, in all his life. Come to think of it, it had seemed to start when he had started football. Coming home later, swearing more often, and general rudeness toward everyone.

It worried me to think of how much Mitch's friends had influenced him, this year. There had to be a reason, but what? Could it be the people he had begun hanging out with? Maybe I was glad I wasn't going to that dumb pizza place, with them.

I turned onto my side, so that I was staring out my window. _Oh God,_ I thought. _Please help him. _And then, my eyes couldn't hold it off any longer, and the tears fell.


	6. Chapter 6 James

6-James

Mitch arrived about the same time as us, and the first thing I did was look for Ally. But as Mitch exited his car, and no girl came from behind him, I began to wonder what had happened to her.

I wasn't the only one that had noticed her absence. Ben and Tyler were looking at each other, wondering the same things that I was.

"Dude…where's your sister?" Ben asked, immediately after we had all gathered in the parking lot. Mitch sighed in annoyance. "Can't we just not talk about my dumb sister for _once_?"

Everyone was surprised with Mitch's snappy comment, even me. But apparently, that wasn't enough for Jarrett. "But man…wasn't she supposed to come?"

Mitch let out another deep sigh. "She decided that she'd better not come. She had…homework." Jarrett, Ben, Tyler, and I immediately looked at each other. The disappointment was written all over their faces.

I quickly looked away, cleverly hiding my thoughts. I didn't need the guys to know that I, too, liked Ally. Especially not Mitch. If he knew that I liked his only sister, I would be a dead man.

"Well," Mitch said, suddenly, breaking the silence. "We had better get inside. I'm starving." The rest of us filed into the pizza place without another word, but I wasn't much hungry, anymore.

It felt like…something was missing, and that definitely did not sit right in my stomach. Every possibility that I thought of that might give me this feeling did not seem to fit. But as soon as Ally popped into my mind, I knew that that was the problem.

I knew for sure, because as soon as I saw her beautiful face in my mind, I thought I might hurl. "I…I'll be right back," I told Mitch, and rushed to the one-person bathroom.

Of course, as soon as I got there, I just couldn't throw up. Instead, I turned on the faucet and splashed some water onto my face. I stared at myself in the mirror. I couldn't help but wonder what she felt about me.

I wondered if she had even considered me as more than just a guy she knew. It was true that you could hide so much behind a simple smile.

When I was sure that I had pulled myself together, I exited the restroom and rejoined the guys. Mitch was sitting with the rest of the team at a long table, and I slipped next to him.

Mitch patted my back. "Are you ok, buddy?" I nodded, though I really wasn't quite sure, myself. "Yeah, I just had a little stomach ache," I said, and looked to see what the other guys were doing.

"Oh, hey, look!" Ben exclaimed. "Look guys, the pizzas!" Sure enough, four large pizzas, carried by a couple people, were coming our way. As tempting as they looked, I couldn't eat. I still felt a gnawing in my stomach.

"Hey, man, eat something!" Jarrett said, devouring a slice of pepperoni pizza. "Yeah, James," Mitch agreed. "We need more of that energy. What you showed us today is what we need."

I smiled a little. "Don't worry about me, guys. I'm just not too hungry, tonight." They shrugged it off and just kept eating, while I kept thinking. The thing that I pondered most of all was that, if I hadn't come to practice today, would I have not suddenly like Ally?

Or would I instantly begin to think about her that way? I knew I shouldn't think about what could have been, but I really wanted to know. It was killing me to not know what Ally felt about me.

The time slipped by faster than I thought possible, and finally, everyone began to head out of the pizza place and back to their houses.

Mitch and I were the last to leave. He was smiling hugely for some weird reason, and at last I had to know the reason. "James," he said to me, before I could ask him. "Look behind you." I turned around, curiously, and saw nothing but couple of girls cleaning tables.

"What?" I asked, turning back to Mitch. He sighed. "The girls. Look at them." Mitch hissed, and I quickly took another look. I saw nothing especially striking about them, except their good looks, and that was probably which was what Mitch found so interesting.

"They go to our school," he told me and I listened, but not really caring. These girls might mean something to my best friend, but certainly not to me. All I wanted was Ally, and it was like, I couldn't think of any other girl in _that _way. "Aren't they hot?" Mitch went on, and I shrugged. "Yeah, sure, man."

Mitch acknowledged my non-interest and sighed. "Dude, what's eating you? You've been all…slow, all night." I only shrugged at him, and he shook his head. "You need to loosen up, man. Watch me." He cleared his throat a bit, and walked in the direction of the girls.

I watched him, like he had told me to do, but without much interest. He seemed to be talking to them, and soon after, he returned to me. The pretty brunette with the really curly hair smiled at me weirdly, and I quickly looked back at Mitch.

"Dude," he said as returned. "We now have dates for tomorrow night." My mouth dropped open. "You can thank me, later," he quickly added. "Mitchel Torres," I heard myself say. "You are NUTS!" he just smiled at me, and we walked out of the pizza place.

I couldn't believe Mitch had actually set me up on a date, with a girl I didn't even know. I didn't want to do it. I couldn't! I had fallen for Ally, not this random chick. And besides he couldn't _make _me go out with her. I would tell him that I wasn't interested. But how exactly would I tell him?

As I wondered how to do this, he and I split, and I got into my car. _Oh, well, _I thought as I buckled my seat belt and started the car. _I'll tell him tomorrow. It's getting late. _I yawned and pulled out of the parking lot, tiredly.


	7. Chapter 7 Ally

7-Ally

It was going on 10:00 when my ears detected the sound of Mitch's car door. My eyes darted open, but I didn't move. There was no reason to. I was still in shock from our…fight.

The front door opened, and I heard Mitch's shoes step against the wooden kitchen floor. He was probably getting a bagel before going into his room for the night.

Just that simple action brought me another round of tears. Just the thought that he would choose food over his own sister was…heart-breaking. Ok, maybe I was being a little over-dramatic. PMS, maybe. But what I was feeling was _real_.

Maybe I wouldn't be so…upset, if he had maybe turned that car around to come resolve things between us, or maybe something of the like. But no! He had probably forgotten all about me. He didn't care about what I thought of him. That was just how shallow he was.

I had seen so many old movies about a sister and brother that got in arguments, but had always apologized and everything in the end. But it was like, that wasn't reality. At least not with Mitch, and me.

I heard Mitch's door to his room open, then quickly shut behind him. I wiped away the last of my stupid tears, and I threw my legs over the side of the bed. I then walked over to my window and lifted the blinds.

The sky was almost pitch-black, but the space between our house and the one next to ours was brightly lit, from my light, and the neighbor's.

Our neighbors weren't just _any _neighbors. My brother's incredibly-hot best friend lived there. That's right, James Kingston, my mega-crush was living just a few feet away from me.

I knew James was in his room but he wasn't visible yet. His room was so much bigger than mine, and through our windows, I only got to view part of it.

I decided to wait for him. Maybe seeing him would make me feel a little better, or, the least it could do would be to distract me a bit.

It was then that I saw him—and his gorgeous body.

James was walking toward his bed, which was close to the window, shirtless. I had only seen him with his shirt off a few times before, and that had all been through the window, as well.

Still, this being, what—the third time—seeing him like this, made me feel like dying. It reminded me once again about how totally I was out of his league. Even knowing that awful truth, I kept on loving him.

I stared at James, praying as hard as I could that he wouldn't see me watching him, especially since I looked so horrible. He definitely had the most beautiful chest I had ever seen. He was muscled, but not too muscular. Just watching him made me think again how absolutely perfect, he was.

To my dismay, James suddenly grabbed a stretchy t-shirt that had been lying on his bed, and he slipped it on. I sighed, disappointedly. I closed the blinds, and felt so grateful that he wasn't going to see me, tonight. I quickly looked in my mirror, and honestly thought I looked horrible.

My eyes were red and puffy from crying so much. My cheeks were quite red, as well…and my lips were impossible.

I sighed, and peeked through the blinds one last time at James before turning off the light for the night. I hopped onto the bed, and got underneath the covers. _I love you, James,_ I whispered, and closed my eyes.


	8. Chapter 8 James

8-James

"Well, we'd better hang up, now," I said to Mitch over the phone, the next morning. "If we want to get to school on time, we'd better go." I heard Mitch sigh over the phone. "Yeah, you're right. Hey, do you want a ride? Ally's going with a couple friends, and I'd be going alone."

I smiled a little. "Sure, Mitch. My car needs some gas, anyway, and I don't think I'll have enough left over if I go to school, then back." He quickly replied, "Awesome! OK, I'll meet you outside, then, alright?"

"Yeah, see you in a minute," I hung up and put my cell in my pocket, and automatically went over to my window to open my blinds. My eyes quickly looked into the window of the house beside mine, and I remembered that it was Ally's room.

I had known that it was hers, before, but a long time ago, Mitch and I had wished that that room had belonged to him, since he and I were best friends, and all.

But right now, I was actually pretty glad that Ally still occupied that room. At least, I was, now that I had begun to like her.

My eyes caught Ally's tall, thin frame, and as soon as I saw her, I couldn't move. Her backpack was on her bed, and she was putting things into it, one by one.

Just watching her do this simple action made me breathless. The way she moved was so…careful, and graceful. She finally had seemed to finish, and zipped up her backpack with one swift motion.

But it was then that it happened. She happened to look out her window, through mine, and in my eyes. I was stuck. I couldn't breathe or move and neither could she. Neither of us looked away.

But then, she looked at her door, with her lips moving, and I assumed that she was talking to Mitch. This was my chance to move. I grabbed my backpack off of my fold-up chair and left my room.

My mom was in the living room, watching TV and folding laundry. When she heard my footsteps, she turned to me and smiled. "Are you leaving, now?" I nodded slowly. "Yeah…Mitch is taking me with him to school." Mom nodded at me. "Alright. Be safe, and don't do anything careless…" I chuckled and replied, "Yeah, Mom. See you later." I slung my backpack over my shoulder and left.

The second I stepped out the door, the cold October air nipped at my neck. The temperature seemed to be dropping gradually, daily. I shivered a little and looked over at Mitch and Ally's house. Ally was just leaving, but she didn't see me. A car was parked in the driveway, waiting for her, and before I knew it, she was inside it, and gone.

Mitch galloped down the front steps of his house and he smiled at me friendly. I smiled back a little, and headed in his direction, taking long strides so that I would get there sooner.

"Hey, man," Mitch greeted, and he pounded my fist with his. "Hey," I replied, returning the greeting. He hopped into the car, first, and immediately after, I hopped in, too.

"Man, I am so psyched about tonight," Mitch commented as we pulled away from our houses. "Why?" I asked, genuinely curious. I seriously didn't know what he could possibly be "psyched" about.

Mitch stared at me for a second as if I were crazy. "Our date with the pizza-girls…?" As soon as he had reminded me, I groaned. I had completely forgotten, and had wished that he hadn't brought it up.

"What?" Mitch asked when he heard my groan. "I thought you were excited." Now it was my turn to stare at him. "Mitch…the whole thing was your idea! You didn't really give me a chance to say anything." He sighed deeply. "Please don't tell me that you're backing down."

I didn't answer, but instead, breathed slowly and deeply. Mitch shook his head, frustrated. "I thought you liked them, too," he said, simply. "And besides, I can't recall the last time you were out on a real date."

I clenched my teeth, trying as hard as I could to hold back my anger. "Why does that even matter, Mitch? Maybe I'm not like you, and I want to save myself for a girl that I actually like, and not one that I don't even know."

Mitch raised his hands off of the wheel, quickly, and said, "Wow, James. No need to get so defensive. I'm sorry." I took a couple deep breaths, calming myself down.

"Look, I respect your opinion, man, but that doesn't mean that I have to do what _you _do," he continued. I looked at him. "And I'm not saying that you should! All I'm saying is that I think I should be able to be the one that chooses who I should date or not, and not anyone else." I thought that saying that might tick him off, but I didn't care. I needed to let my mind be heard, for once.

"Fine, James. I'm sorry. It was _way _out of line for me to have set up dates for us with two beautiful girls." I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not, but I hoped that he wasn't.

It was silent for a few seconds, until Mitch made a right turn, pulling into the school parking lot. "Look, James…I know you don't want to do this, but can you please do this one date? For me? You don't have to date her anytime after this…I just don't want to have to tell them that it's off."

I was about to argue, but the look on his face was so desperate. I really didn't want to see him crash and burn with this girl, especially since he seemed to really like her.

"Fine," I said, sighing dramatically. "But just this one date. That's it." Mitch's face lit up, immediately. "Thank you, James. And who knows, maybe you have fun, after all."

He parked the car, and opened his door, and I sighed again. Right now, I wished that the girl that I was going out with, tonight, could have been Ally. Then, there would definitely be no problem.

I opened my door and closed it, then. Mitch locked the car. "C'mon, buddy," Mitch said, happily. "Let's get inside."


	9. Chapter 9 Ally

9-Ally

"Just his behavior in general, lately, ticks me off," I was telling my best friends, Emily and Jenna. "I'm telling you, football has done nothing but hurt Mitch." We were at our lockers, and I had been telling my best friends about Mitch the whole ride to school.

"He _has _seemed different, lately," Jenna agreed, opening her locker. "I mean, he's different, that I've noticed." I nodded, sighing. "But 'different' doesn't even completely cover it. You should have seen us, last night. I don't remember _ever _fighting with him like that."

I put a couple books into my locker, and Emily sighed sympathetically. "Well, it is his junior year, Ally. He is probably stressed because he has a lot going on." I just shrugged, not saying anything. I opened my locker and grabbed a few books. I was bothered deeply by Mitch's behavior…and I just hoped that somehow, his rudeness would disappear.

The first bell rang, suddenly, warning us to get to class. I nodded toward Jenna and Emily, and together, we rushed off to class.

The time flew by rather quickly, and finally, Lunch came. As soon as the bell rang, I hopped up from my seat and headed toward the cafeteria; students rushing by me.

The cafeteria was already full of students when I entered it, and I immediately got in line. I looked around for Jenna and Emily, and I spotted them at a table, waiting for me. I then began to do what I usually did after looking for them—look for James.

Now, that action was particularly difficult to do, because I had memorized where the Jock-table was. And there, I saw him, laughing at something Mitch must have said.

Even above the loud voices of all of the teens of the school, I could hear James' laugh—bright and contagious. After staring at him awhile, I popped back into reality, and noticed someone behind me, tapping on my back. "Huh?" I asked, looking at him. "Um…the lines moving," he said.

I apologized quickly and moved up, and tried my best not to look back at James anymore. That was too close. What if James had been the one to catch me staring?

Of course, this morning, he was staring right back at me, through our windows. What was the deal with that? Leaving that question unanswered, I paid for my lunch and walked over to Jenna and Emily.

"Hey girl," Emily greeted as I sat down across from them. "Hey," I replied, smiling. "Alright, so Em and I were thinking…" Jenna began. I looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "We haven't had a real sleep-over in a while, and I was hoping we could have one, tonight, at my place." I sighed. Usually, I loved her sleep-overs, but for some reason, I didn't feel up to one.

"I don't know…" I said. "I don't think that I would be much fun. I still haven't resolved things with my brother…" Emily groaned. "Oh, come on, Ally! Maybe this sleep-over might just do the trick! It's Friday, and we don't have much homework. We need a break from the stress, and just need to have a party."

I smiled a little. Maybe Em was right. Maybe all I needed was a break. I felt both of their gazes on me, and I finally said, "Oh, alright. I'll come." Both of them smiled. "Great! You guys can come over abut 4:00 then, ok? That'll give me almost two hours to set up." Emily and I nodded, and I actually began to feel a bit better. Excitement began to take the place of the worry I was holding inside.

Suddenly, I noticed someone coming, out of the corner of my eye that was the last person I would ever expect. It was my brother, of all people. "Ally…" he said, straight-faced. "I'm just telling you now, that I won't be home for dinner…James and I are going out tonight with a couple girls."

I looked up when I heard the word 'girls'. "Wait…you? James? With girls? Tonight?" Jenna and Emily giggled at me, and my brother rudely replied, "Yes, Einstein is that too hard to process?"

"Harsh," muttered Emily, and I sighed. "No…I'm sorry. Well, I won't be home tonight, _at all_. I'm sleeping over at Jenna's." Mitch's eyebrows both rose slightly. "Just you girls, right? There won't be any guys, are there?"

Em and Jenna looked at each other and burst out laughing. I felt like doing the same, but I instead said sarcastically, "Oh, yeah, Mitch. There will be tons of guys. We'll party with 'em all night long."

Mitch's eyes got insanely wide with shock, then, and this time, I _did _laugh. "Oh, my gosh, Mitch. You are so vulnerable!" Mitch cleared his throat a little, and said, "Whatever…I'll see you later." Then, he left.

I instantly began to replay what had just happened through my head. According to my brother, he and James were going to dinner with a couple girls…and he obviously meant them to be dates. And Mitch couldn't have both girls…so James must be the date of one of them!

Jenna and Emily seemed to notice my sudden worried expression, and Jenna reached over to touch me. "Hey…what are you thinking about?" I looked up at her, and forced a smile. She and Jenna had no idea about how I felt about James. "Nothing. Everything's ok, really. Come on, we'd better hurry and eat."

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, chapter 9-done! :D Hehe, hope you guys are liking it so far. A huge thank you to Linhohbabycakes and HamsterRox for being the first two reviewers on <strong>_My Brothers Best Friend**! **_**You two rock 3 Thanks for reading. Moreee reviews would be lovely, so if anyone happens to stumble across my little story here, even if it anonymous, pleaseee review! Love you all! 3 **


	10. Chapter 10 James

10-James

For the rest of school, all I thought about was the date, tonight. I got more and more nervous by the second, but I really wasn't quite sure why.

One reason was, I had been on other dates in the past…why should I be anymore nervous than when I was, before? Another reason was, I wasn't even excited for the date. Mitch had still been able to get me to do this, even if I didn't want to…

The day crept by, freakishly slowly, and as each minute passed, I grew more and more upset with my best friend, for setting up the date in the first place.

Several times in-between classes, Ally would pass me, and I would just watch her. I figured many people just might think of me as a creeper…but when it came to Ally, it was like nothing else even mattered. Finally, after what seemed like days, rather than hours, the dismissal bell rang, and everyone around me began to leave.

Mitch was the only other one that didn't leave when everyone else did. "James…you look horrible," he said to me when we finally did stand up. "And I _feel_ horrible," I replied, sighing. "Maybe I should just forget about tonight."

Mitch shot me a disapproving look. "C'mon, man…that's not fair." I shrugged it off as we left the classroom, and headed toward our lockers. I knew that no matter how I tried, I was stuck with going on that date, tonight.

My eyes caught a certain girl as we stopped at our lockers. "Hey man…what is your sister doing tonight?" His face turned to see Ally, and he let out a little groan. "I don't care…why?"

I just shrugged, and pretended not to look over at her again, but did, secretly. She was talking to her best friends, not seeming to acknowledge me. I wished I felt as good as she felt…Maybe I would if I wasn't going on that date tonight…

I grabbed all of my books and placed them into my backpack without saying another word. I followed Mitch as he led the way out of the school, and straight to the parking lot. I heard a voice behind me shout, "Mitch! Wait!"

Both Mitch and I turned to see who had been shouting his name, and I lost my breath when I saw who it was—Ally.

"Mitch," she said again, jogging up. She looked right at me for a split second, and then she looked back at her brother. "I need a ride home, please." Mitch groaned with annoyance, and quickly replied, "Why aren't you going back with Jenna and Emily?"

I almost shouted at him for talking to Ally that way. I mean, who did that? "Jenna needs to set up for the party tonight…and I need to go back home to pack," she quickly but very quietly replied.

Mitch rolled his eyes. "Well, James and I need to get ready for our dates." This time, I couldn't keep quiet, but made sure I wasn't being too obvious, standing up for her. "Oh, come on, Mitch. She lives at your house; too…it's not like taking her home would be going out of your way."

Ally switched her attention back to me, and I looked back at her. She had a genuinely thankful look on her face. If I hadn't been able to think right, I would have thought that that look was almost…loving. It was funny how easy it was to fool yourself.

Mitch sighed deeply, as if taking her with us was a huge hardship for him. "Fine…get in." Ally seemed to ignore the rudeness, and smiled widely at me as soon as he looked away. And I felt perfectly fine smiling back at her.

We all piled into Mitch's car, and we were on our way in seconds. I chuckled to myself and said aloud, "Gee, Mitch, good thing we live right beside each other, and not far apart…or taking me home would _really _be goingout of your way."

Mitch smiled a little. "No, man, you're my best friend. I don't mind taking you." I couldn't help but notice the sudden expression-change on Ally's face. She looked absolutely shocked. "I'm your freaking sister!" she exclaimed. "And it is so hard to take _me_ home?"

Mitch didn't even answer her; he just ignored her and concentrated on the road. I sighed and smiled kindly at Ally through the mirror. I didn't care if she didn't see me smile at her or not…I just _really _liked her.

When we finally arrived at our houses, no one hesitated before jumping out of the car. Ally shot a quick "thank you" at Mitch, and immediately ran into the house right after. Mitch and I looked at each other once we were out of the car.

"OK…we shall be dining out fancily, tonight," Mitch told me, suddenly. "So dress well. Tuxes are the ideal clothing. Oh, and no worries, I have the money covered."

Silently, I thought, _Well I'm glad that he's paying for this…I didn't even want to come in the first place. _I nodded, showing him that I understood the plan.

As I turned to leave, he quickly said, "Wait—James?" I turned around to see what he wanted, this time. He smiled. "Thanks for doing this for me. Seriously. You're a great friend."

I couldn't help but smile. This had been one of the first times I had heard Mitch say "thank you" all day, and actually had meant it. "No problem, buddy." I turned around, still smiling, and headed into my house.


	11. Chapter 11 Ally

11-Ally

_Inbox (1) _it said on my laptop computer screen, and I clicked it. It was from Jenna. She had apparently _already_ sent out the invites for the sleep over to a few friends, and this looked pretty detailed. I swear, that girl was the fastest person I had ever met.

Laughing to myself, I logged out of my email, and closed my laptop. I only had a few things to put together for the party/sleep over, and I still had about two hours until I could leave.

Deciding not to pack _just _yet, I fell onto my bed, and stared at the ceiling. What could I do to entertain myself for the rest of the time?

That question had an all-too-easy answer. I smiled and turned over on my side, so that I was looking out my window. Yes…my idea was to watch James, at least until he had to go. To just anyone, watching him might seem sort of creepy…but to me, it was a treat, for some reason.

I guess I had looked into his room at the perfect time, because he was just slipping his shirt off of him. I laid there, watching him, feeling suffocated. The sight was so incredibly beautiful that it was difficult to breathe.

Again, I took in all of his features. I did this often, but not usually when he was shirtless. Just looking at his beautiful self reminded me how totally out of his league I was—again.

He pulled a tux over his head, and it hit me that he was going on that date, tonight. I had completely forgotten, gotten lost in my fantasies. Well, whoever that girl was, she was so lucky. She was going out with the hottest guy on the face of the earth.

James suddenly walked to a different part of his room, and I sighed with disappointment. He was totally out of my view, now. He and Mitch would be leaving soon. I guess all I could do now was pack and prepare for the party.

Sighing, I rolled off of my bed and grabbed my big bag out of my closet. I placed it on my bed, and began to gather things that I would need. I guess the next time I would see James was when he left with my brother, then after that, I would have to wait until tomorrow.

I sighed and stared at my window blankly for a few seconds, then walked over and closed the blinds.


	12. Chapter 12 James

12-James

"James…it will be fine," Mitch said as we drove on our way to meet the girls at the restaurant. He tried to put a comforting look on his face, but I just sighed.

Even though Mitch was telling me that everything was going to be ok, I didn't believe it. Now that we were actually on our way, my stomach spun uncontrollably. I was _so _not ready for tonight.

The restaurant was only a few minutes down the road from us, since it was just in town, and somehow, that comforted me, slightly. Maybe if I really couldn't handle the night, I could leave instantly.

I noticed the corners of Mitch's mouth turn up into an excited smile, out of the corner of my eye. We were pulling into the parking lot of the restaurant and I could see why he was excited.

We found a spot easily, and as the car slowed to a stop, my stomach did a flip. Mitch glanced at me, and then frowned a little. "James…" was all he said. I cleared my throat a little and I quickly said, "Don't worry, man. I'll be fine."

I forced a smile to show him that I was telling the truth, and he smiled back. "Thanks. Come on, let's go claim our table." We hopped out, closed the doors, and Mitch locked the car. Then, we hurried inside.

Even though we were both dressed up so fancily, as we walked in, I felt almost _underdressed. _It was very dark indoors, and mini-lanterns sat in the center of every table, lighting it up just enough.

The theme of the entire restaurant seemed to be…red. Red cloth draped over every table. Red curtains…red carpet—I bet the purpose of this was to make everyone who walked in here to feel like a celebrity.

"Do you have a reservation?" the host asked as we approached. Mitch nodded and replied, "Yeah. It's under 'Torres'? Party of four. We requested two tables, and we have two others joining us."

The host nodded. "Of course, Mr. Torres. Right this way, please." He led the way to a very…red, booth. Mitch grinned at me wildly. "He called me 'Mr. Torres'," he whispered excitedly. I smiled back, and I realized that the unpleasant feeling in my stomach seemed to have left, somewhat. I had been distracted by how fancy everything was.

As we made our way to our table, I wondered how the heck Mitch was going to be able to pay for the food and everything. This pace had to be charging a _lot_ for the food.

That question was left unanswered, but I didn't really care. We arrived at the table, and the host turned to us. "I apologize that the tables are so spread apart…but the other tables had been reserved already."

Mitch nodded quickly. "No problem. It's perfect, actually. Thank you." The host nodded, then left. Mitch looked at me. "Here, James, you can sit here, with me, until Alicia and Chloe get here."

I nodded and took a seat pm the red booth. "Whoa," I said as I slipped in. "The seats are really…slippery." Mitch sat on the edge of the other side of the booth. "Yeah, they are. It's probably just the polish."

It was very silent here, except for the quiet sound of someone playing classical piano in the corner, and the almost inaudible talking of people's talking.

Everyone here looked so…good. I wasn't surprised, though. I mean, this _was_ a fancy restaurant, and Mitch and I definitely weren't the only ones dressed up. But I had never been to a place quite like this one.

Mitch quickly hissed, "James! Don't look now, but here they come!" Of course, I looked right in the direction he was talking about, and two gorgeous girls came striding toward us, being led by the host.

I recognized the girls, because I had seen them before, obviously, even though they looked so different. For instance, the pretty girl with the usually extremely curly, brown hair now had long, straight brown hair that fell a few inches below her shoulders. She looked _really _good.

Mitch and I stood up, instantly, and smiled when they had arrived. When I gave the girl a second glance, I couldn't believe it. "Ally?" I thought, but not saying anything out loud.

"James," Mitch suddenly said, not taking his eyes off of the girls. "I'd like you to meet Alicia and Chloe. Ladies…this is my best friend, James." I shook my head quickly, and now, I saw the actual girls, and Ally wasn't there. "It's nice to meet you two," I said.

"You too," they said, and Mitch clapped his hands together quietly. "Great! Now that we know each other, Alicia, you're with me, and Chloe, you're with James."

Chloe looked at me, happily. So far, she hadn't stopped smiling. "Good," she said so quietly that only I could hear. "I was hoping I'd be with you." I smiled shyly and motioned for her to follow me to the table a few yards away. _Here we go…_ I thought, and hoped greatly that time would pass….quickly.


	13. Chapter 13 Ally

13-Ally

"Ally!" Jenna exclaimed, not two seconds after I had knocked on the door. "Come on in!" I smiled widely at her, and lugged my big bag into her house.

"You can set that over there in the chair," Jenna said, and I threw it where she had pointed. I looked around at the quiet room. "Hey…am I the only here, so far?"

Jenna set a huge bowl of pretzels onto the coffee table, and she shook her head. "No! Emily and Erin are upstairs right now, picking out some music to play tonight." _Erin_, I thought in surprise. I hadn't heard that name in a while. She and Jenna used to hang out all the time, until Erin had moved to Seattle. Now, they rarely saw each other, because she lived three hours away.

I nodded at Jenna, remembering Erin, immediately. Since I really had nothing else to do, I went ahead and asked her if I could help her with anything. "No, I'm good, thanks Ally. I just need to get the soda, but I'm not doing that until everyone's here."

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Wait…_everyone_? What do you mean? Aren't we all here, already? You, Emily, Erin, and me?" Jenna laughed and shook her head. "No, silly! Us four are definitely sleeping here, but I invited some are people here for the actual party."

The doorbell rang, just then, and she smiled at me. "Just a sec," she said, and then ran toward the door. As soon as she opened it, five people walked in—2 girls and three guys.

As they walked into the living room, I stared wide-mouthed at them. "Uh…Jenna! Get over here!" I hissed, demanding an explanation. She giggled at my reaction. "What's wrong, Ally?"

I looked at the boys, then at her. "What's wrong? _They _are what's wrong!"

Jenna looked at them, then back at me. "That's Peter, Josh, and Levi. What's

So wrong about them?"

"What's _wrong _is that I told my brother that there wouldn't be any guys at

this party. And Peter, Josh, and Levi do not look _anything_ like girls, to me."

Jenna laughed loudly. "Don't worry about it, Ally. It's not like they are

Going to sleep with us. They'll be gone in…a couple hours."

I took a deep breath. "Well…is everyone here?" A doorbell came again,

Answering my question. I closed my eyes, and grimaced. Jenna just smiled

Weakly at me. "Sorry…?" she said, but rushed to the door.

A second later, a galloping sound came down the stairs, and Emily and Erin

Appeared, carrying several CD's. Erin beamed at me and waved. She looked

A lot different than I remembered, but I smiled back at her and returned the

Wave. The moment didn't last long, though. She and Emily rushed to the

Stereo system and put a CD into the drive. Seconds later, Allstar Weekend

Was blaring through the house.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. Jenna was probably right—

They would be gone in a few hours, and then it would be the four of us, just

Like old times.

_Just shut up and stop worrying about everything, _I told myself in my mind.

_Go mingle, and have a good time. _Just as I told myself this, the doorbell

Rang_…_again. When Jenna answered it this time, _six _more people came in.

_Oh, God,_ I thought to myself. There were now a total of fifteen people in

Jenna's house. And some of the people, I didn't even know she knew!

_Well, I know Jenna inside and out. She won't let things get out of control._

As I thought these words, the doorbell rang _again_.

I took a look at Emily, Erin, and Jenna, whom were all chatting with friends

And acquaintances. Jenna didn't even seem to notice the doorbell ring. I

Sighed and decided to let the guests in, myself. _So far, not so good, _I

Thought. I took a deep breath, and opened the door.

"Ally!" a voice exclaimed as soon as the door was open, and my face was

visible. My mouth dropped open as soon as I saw who it was. "Whoa…it's

Tyler, right?" I asked, very surprised. Tyler beamed at me. "Yeah! You

Remembered! These are a few other guys on the team: Jarrett, Chad, and

Ben."

I smiled weakly at the four smiling faces standing outside my best friend's

Door. "So, uh…you know Jenna?" I asked Tyler. He shook his head. "Oh,

No…we just got a text from Levi saying to come here. We were told that

There was going to be a sick party here, tonight."

I stared at him in shock. "What?" Tyler chuckled. "Hey…can we come in?"

I slowly moved to the side, letting them walk inside. I couldn't believe this.

If texts were being sent out right now…this place could be full of people

Within minutes.

_Oh, what am I going to do? _I asked myself, panicking a little. I shot another

Glance at Jenna, and she seemed to be enjoying herself, looking quite

Carefree. I didn't know why I was so worried. At least this wasn't _my _

House…

But the thought that strangers were filling up my best friend's house was a

Little scary. And the worst part was, it was like I was the only one who

Seemed to be worrying about it!

I just needed to keep calm, and just wait. Jenna would keep things under

Control. She had to! It was her own house! I just wished I could believe that

Everything was going to be ok.


	14. Chapter 14 James

14-James

"So, uh…what are your hobbies?" Chloe asked me, right after the waiter had taken our orders. I shrugged. "Well…I play football…and, yeah. That's pretty much it. What about you?"

She smiled at me, looking right in my eyes. "You're athletic…that's great. As for me, I sing, play the guitar; hang out with my friends. Nothing too impressive." She let out a light laugh, and I smiled, but looked in the direction of Mitch's table. I was _not _glad that I had, though, because he and Alicia were already making out.

"Wow," Chloe said, looking in the same direction, then back at me. "They aren't being too shy, are they?" I chuckled a little, and nodded. "Nope…I guess not." I refused to make eye contact with her, though.

Chloe seemed to hate moments of silence, I assumed, because she always had something to say. She seemed to notice my quietness, though. "James…may I ask you something?" I looked at her for the first time in a long time, tonight. "Uh, yeah, sure."

She stared in my eyes again, and said, "Why won't you…look at me? You seem really reserved or something. Am I annoying you?" I quickly replied, "No, not at all! I just…I just have a lot on my mind."

"Are you sure? I mean, it's like you don't even want to be here. I keep comparing you to Mr. Loverboy, over there…and you're nothing alike," she said.

I chuckled again. "I know…Mitch and I are complete opposites. I'm sorry if I'm, uh, not what you expected…" I didn't want to tell her that I was forced here against my will, because I knew that might hurt her feelings.

She smiled and nodded. "It's ok. But this isn't the first time I have seen a guy act this way. You like another girl, don't you? And let me guess, Mitch begged you to come with him just so he could be with the other girl? In this case, I mean Alicia."

I stared at her, absolutely surprised. Before I asked her how she had known, she laughed. "This isn't the first time this has happened to me, James." I suddenly felt really bad for her. She was a beautiful girl. Why wouldn't anyone ask her on a date without needing anyone else to help make the date possible?

Chloe rested her head on her hand. "So, tell me about this girl, of yours." I smiled, genuinely happy for the first time all night. "Ally…" I said, simply, and I felt myself smile. I didn't have to think too hard to explain this to Chloe. I just let my feelings do the talking.

"She is the sweetest girl you'll ever meet. She looks for the best in everyone, even if it's a horrible person. She is continually helping others, and she has a smile for everyone." I smiled all the wider as I told this to Chloe.

Chloe was grinning hugely at me. "You are so much different than any other guy I know, James. I can already tell that you aren't one of those guys that thinks it's all about the girl's looks. This girl is so lucky to have such a …a genuine boyfriend."

I sighed, slightly. "Oh…we aren't together…she doesn't even know that I like her. And she probably likes someone else, anyway…like Tyler." My smile turned into a frown.

Chloe gasped quietly. "She doesn't know how you feel about her?" She asked in disbelief. "You need to tell her, James." I shook my head. "No way…I can't! And if Mitch ever found out, I would be a dead man."

She raised an eyebrow. "Wait…Mitch? What does he have to do with this?" I swallowed. "A lot, actually. He's Ally's older brother." Chloe nodded slowly, understanding. "Ah, I see…that definitely is a tough one."

I nodded, agreeing. I had been trying to figure out how it would work if the small possibility that Ally liked me would ever come true.

"All I can say is," Chloe began. "If you really love Ally, and she likes you, you two won't care _what _anyone thinks of you guys, not even her brother. And as for Mitch…if he were really as good a friend as you say he is, then he will be confident in you, and be ok with you dating his sister.

"However, it is natural for older brothers to be protective over their younger sisters…and 90% of them are usually _overprotective_. Mitch is probably one of the 90%, so he definitely will be hesitant to the idea, at first. But like I said…if he's really your best friend, then he'll let his sister date whoever she wants."

I was staring at the table lantern the entire time, nodding, and listening to Chloe. Everything she had just said was absolutely right, I believed.

I looked right at Chloe, and smiled a little. "You know what? You're right. Mitch is my best friend. He should take me as whoever I am, and not who he wants me to be. If I like his sister, he is just gonna have to deal with it."

Chloe giggled at my sudden braveness. "There, you go! Now go, James. Go get your girl." I beamed at her. "You…you don't mind?" Chloe closed her eyes and shook her head. "Nah…I'm used to it, by now."

I got up, walked over to her, and kissed her cheek. "Thank you, Chloe. Really. And I know that you definitely will find your guy, one day. Just keep on being your smart, beautiful self." Chloe blushed, but hurried me off. "Go, James! Go! Before Mitch notices!" I flashed a grateful smile at her, and then rushed out of the restaurant as quickly as I could.

It was then, though, that I realized that I had no car to reach Ally, with. I looked around me, looking for _any _source of transportation. I was desperate.

"You've got to be kidding me," I said out loud, as I stared at what was in front of me. "Oh, well, it's better than nothing, I guess." I grimaced as I hopped onto the tiny, pink, girlie bicycle. Any other day, I would have cared, but not today. I was on a mission. A mission to tell Ally that I liked her, finally.


	15. Chapter 15 Ally

15-Ally

I was freaking out.

So many people were wanting to come in that Jenna just left the front door open. I couldn't even count the large amount of bodies that were in the living room, kitchen, and almost everywhere else.

It was too late to "have a good time". This was turning into one of those big house parties that tended to last into early the next morning. The worst part was, Jenna still seemed perfectly cool with it!

I couldn't take the noise. Pretty soon, neighbors would probably start complaining, and some might even call the cops. I don't think Jenna's parents would be very happy coming home early from their business trip, because they found out that their daughter had held a huge house party.

I pushed through the many bodies, looking for Emily. I needed her, right now. She understood me the most, out of us all. Loud music was blaring in the background so loudly, it was almost impossible to hear anyone.

At last, I found her long, dark, curly hair, and I ran toward her as quickly as I could, through a huge crowd. "Em! I'm freaking out!" Em's face shot at me, immediately. "What?" she yelled back at me.

I sighed and motioned for her to follow me, and she nodded. We had to push past a million people, just trying to get into the kitchen. When we finally were in there, Emily exclaimed, "Whoa!" I looked to see what she was talking about, and my mouth dropped open. Two random people were leaning against the counter, making out.

"Follow me," Emily said quickly, and we started up the stairs. Emily led me into Jenna's room, and we sighed at the same time. "Things are completely out of control," I said to her, worriedly. Em nodded, agreeing. "I know. I'm so glad we found each other when we did, though. I was surrounded by freaking strangers!"

I let out a nervous laugh, but my face straightened again, instantly. "Jenna should have just invited us, four," I said. Em sighed and nodded. "Yeah, maybe then, we could be playing a nice, friendly game of Go Fish or something..."

We stared at each other for several seconds, and I said, "We need to get them out of here. Half of the freaking school is here!" Em looked out the window, quickly and groaned. "And more are coming! Wait a second…oh my god!"

I darted to the window. "What?" Emily looked at me. "Is that…your brother?" My eyes scanned the entire yard. "It can't be, my brother is on a date."

Emily looked at me. "Isn't that a girl, with him?" I was about to disagree, when my eyes saw it. Em was right. My brother and a pretty blonde girl were walking—toward Jenna's house!

"Oh, Emily!" I moaned. "Once he finds out that this is Jenna's house, I am dead meat!" Emily grimaced. "But, hey, it's not your fault girl! Jenna invited a few extra people, and it kinda snowballed from there."

I shook my head. "But when he heard that a couple guys were invited in the first place…he won't be happy. I told him that there weren't going to be any guys."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Ok, first, stop freaking out! Second, when did Mitch suddenly become your parent? It's not any of his business if guys are invited to your friend's party, or not!" I looked at the ground. "I know…it's just, ever since my mom and dad died, it's like he kinda took over. I just sort of played along…and it's been the same ever since. After all, he _is _my older brother."

It was quiet for moment. By now, Mitch and his date were probably in the house, and he _must _have seen Jenna by now. Then he would have realized that this is her house…

But then, a thought crept into my mind, and I asked it out loud. "Wait…why is Mitch even here in the first place?" Emily shrugged. "I have no doubt that he was one of the guys that got a text about the 'totally sick party'." She rolled her eyes after saying that.

"I guess I'd better go face my brother," I sighed. Emily offered me a comforting smile. "Hey, I'll come with you." We exited Jenna's room, and headed back down the stairs.

The party was still going on, and it was obvious that the quantity of people had grown, some. I flinched as soon as I saw my brother. He was talking to Jenna.

He looked over in my direction, immediately, and he had a very…upset look on his face. I stopped in my tracks, not taking any steps closer to him. Instead, he advanced toward me, his date staying behind him.

"What are you still doing here?" Mitch asked, angrily. "If you knew there would be guys here…you should have left! You told me there wouldn't be any boys here—at all." I shook my head, feeling close to tears, already. "I didn't think there would be! Jenna just invited a couple friends, and then they spread the word! It's not my fault."

Mitch shook his head, angrily. "Why would you even try to blame someone else? And your own best friend, Ally? You have totally betrayed my trust!"

I wiped a runaway tear away from the corner of my eye. "You know what?" I asked. "So _what_ if I did? You aren't my dad! You can't tell me what to do!"

Mitch glared at me. "If I don't do anything, you're going to grow up to be a self, immature brat! And you don't know what guys are like, little sister! These guys would not want to leave, if you asked them. They would want to stay…and they need a place to sleep, right? And there are only so many beds in one house…"

I gasped. "Oh, my god, Mitch! You think that I would sleep with someone?" I stared at him in absolute disbelief. He continued to glare at me. "What kind of a brother _are _you?" I asked. That was when the tears came. I shook my head at him, and bombarded my way through the crowed. I needed to get away. Right now.

* * *

><p><strong>I am having so much fun writing this story...just thought I'd let you know :) Thank you so much, reviewers! You are the best ones in the world Thanks for keeping up with my story. :) Don't worry; more chapters are to come!<strong>


	16. Chapter 16 James

16-James

There it was. Ally's house.

I was still pedaling as fast as I could on the little girl bike, toward our houses. I couldn't believe that I actually was doing this. People would call me a freak…but I didn't care. All that mattered right now was me telling Ally that I really liked her. As more than a friend.

As I neared her house, though, I noticed that there weren't any lights in any of the rooms, not even in Ally's. Confused but determined, I kept going.

As soon as I was close enough to the house, I threw the bike down, and rushed to the door. I knocked eagerly, hoping that she was home. I knocked again when there was no answer, but this time, louder.

Before I went ahead and rang the doorbell, I realized what Mitch had told me, before. Ally was going to a party tonight…and she was probably gone. "Darn it!" I sighed, angrily. Never had there been a time that I had wanted something this bad.

I stood there for a few moments, until I heard someone coming down the road. Instead of turning to see who it was, I automatically jumped into the row of bushes between the houses. Yelping, I pushed myself deep into the middle, peeking out at Ally and Mitch's house.

I was surprised to hear sniffing. Not just ordinary sniffing…but like, crying-sniffing. I held back my yell of pain from a branch digging into my side, and watched to see what happened next.

The crying got clearer and louder. It wasn't that loud to begin with, but it was obvious that the person was getting closer. My heart seemed to break into two pieces when I saw who it was.

Ally was making her way up the front steps of her house. Her face was tear-streaked, and she hadn't seemed to stop crying.

I wanted to jump out of this stupid bush and rush up to her to comfort her. I wanted to wrap my arms around her, and tell her that everyone would be ok. But most of all, what I wanted to do was look her right in the eyes and tell her how I felt about her.

But I couldn't move. I didn't know why I wasn't moving…but it was like, I could no longer control my legs. I just watched as Ally unlocked the front door, and go inside.

As soon as she was out of my eye-range, I fell completely out of the bush, and onto the cold, green grass. How had that happened? While Ally had been there, it was like there had been a force, keeping me in that bush, and away from her. But when she had left, the force disappeared.

I stood up on my feet, and stared at the building that Ally had disappeared into. I couldn't believe how close I had been to telling her. Then, I realized that I still could tell her. Right now. I could knock on the door, she would answer…and everything would be perfect. But instead of going back to her door, I went back to _my _door, and walked inside. I was such a coward.


	17. Chapter 17 Ally

17-Ally

"Hey, girl…how are you doing?" Emily asked me the next day, when we were at the mall. I sighed and shrugged. "I haven't talked to my brother since last night, if that's what you mean."

Emily frowned and let out a deep sigh. It was obvious that she was really troubled about this. I looked at her and smiled a little. "But hey, we'll work it out. Come on; let's go get some frozen yogurt."

We got into the unusually short line, and purchased our yogurt, and then we sat down at a nearby table. As we ate, I glanced around at the people passing by. Just seeing all of the people, I remembered the party, yesterday. I looked at Em. "So…you stayed behind, at the party yesterday, right? When did everyone clear out?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah…actually, it didn't last long after you left. Jenna finally got up the nerve to kick everyone out. The party left a huge mess, though, so she has a _lot _of cleaning up to do."

I sighed deeply and took another bite of yogurt. I still couldn't believe how out of control things had gotten, last night. I also couldn't help but think about…the fight. And I thought that Mitch and my fight before, was bad…but nothing compared to the fight, yesterday.

Emily and I finished our yogurt and threw the trash away in a nearby garbage can. "I feel like we should be helping Jenna, though. I mean, since we're her best friends and all," I said, aloud. Emily sighed quietly and nodded. "Yeah…I know what you mean. But let's just hang out here for a while, longer. Then we can go check on her."

I nodded in agreement, and we stood up. "Where should we go, now?" Em asked me, quickly. I looked around, and replied, "Let's just wander. Maybe we can go into some clothing stores and try things on, even if we aren't buying them."

Emily laughed, and agreed. That was one thing my best friends and I loved to do whenever we came to the mall. It was fun pretending that we had endless supplies of money, and we could "shop" as much as we wanted.

We made our way down one of the huge halls, and together we looked around us. It was funny, we had been coming to the mall every weekend for as long as I could remember, and it seemed like, every time we came, there was something new, whether it was a new store or they had changed the decorations or something.

Emily stopped us in front of one of the stores. "Hey…let's go in there!" she said excitedly. "We've never tried this store before, but I've heard cool things about it." I smiled and nodded, and we entered the huge inside.

The unusually large store was full of men's and women's clothing. There were tons of dresses, cute tops, skirts, and every kind of jeans for teenage girls like me, and I really liked the styles.

"C'mon!" Emily gestured, and led the way to deep into the teen girls' section. "Oh my gosh, look at them!" she said, referring to the fancy dresses. I loved them, instantly, even though they were so fancy, that if I got one, I would probably only be able to use it like once or twice a year, max.

"Come on, Ally," Em said. "Let's try them on." I smiled and said, "Sure!" She chose one, and rushed into the dressing room. I felt a little picky, so I looked over them, one by one. Emily came back out before I had chosen one.

"Hey, how come you aren't dressed, yet?" she asked me. I turned around smiled at Emily. "Wow, Em…I love it! You look so good in blue!" Em beamed, and looked down at herself, then back at me. "It feels weird trying on a dress…I like, rarely wear them. But I definitely am in love with this. It's so expensive, though."

I laughed. "Where would you wear it to, besides dances at school?" She shrugged. "Hey…maybe someone will ask me out. You never know." I smiled. "True that."

Em walked over to the rack of dresses and picked out a white and black one. "Go put this on. Right now." I laughed at her. "Yes, ma'm!" I went into the dressing room, and slowly began to change out of my ordinary, everyday clothes, and into the elegant dress.

As soon as I had put it on, I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked so much…different. The dress fit…and just knowing that made me want it even more. But I left the dressing room to show Emily. She was browsing through another rack of dresses, and she turned around when she heard me coming.

"Oh my god," she said. "You're getting that dress." I looked at it again and laughed. "I wish. But, Em? Have you check out the price tag? No way." It was then that I heard a familiar voice say my name, and I recognized the person, immediately. That angelic voice could only belong to one person. "James?" I asked, turning around.


	18. Chapter 18 James

18-James

Oh my freaking god. Shoot me, now.

In front of me stood the most beautiful sight, ever. I'm not even joking. I had just come into this store to buy myself a couple pairs of jeans…and who would have ever guessed that I would find Ally, here? And in a dress like that?

I barely even pondered why she would be dress-shopping in the first place. All I saw was her, and me. I had forgotten that she had a friend with her. The whole world had just frozen around us.

"James?" she repeated, staring at me. I swallowed, and said stupidly, "Yeah. Uh…what are you doing here?" She continued to stare at me, her expression unchanging. "Uh…trying on things…you?"

I lifted the jeans I had been holding. "Just getting these…" it was awkwardly silent, then. Her friend kept eyeing us suspiciously. "Oh! Emily! This is James, Mitch's best friend. James…this is _my_ best friend, Emily," Ally said, very quickly. Emily waved a little, and I just smiled.

I couldn't believe how beautiful Ally looked, right now. I mean, she always looked amazing, but right now…I couldn't even describe what I was feeling.

Then, I realized…I could ask Ally the question. I could finally tell her that I liked her. I didn't even care that Emily was there to hear. I had to tell Ally, now.

"Ally…" I said quickly. "I need to tell you something." She looked right in my eyes, and I felt like she was all I could ever need. She stood there, waiting for me to continue.

Right as I opened my mouth to continue, a voice jumped in, from out of there. "Oh my god…Ally?" All three of us turned our heads to see who had been speaking. _Oh, God, no! _I thought to myself, and groaned quietly. "Ally," Tyler said again, and I watched as he jogged over to us. "Holy crap, you are gorgeous." I felt like punching his face, but of course, I didn't. "Not that you aren't always, but you know."

Ally blushed then, making herself look even more beautiful, to me. All this time, Emily was just standing there, eying us. Tyler quickly continued his flirting. "I'm glad you're here, though. I was wondering…would you like to join me for dinner, this evening?"

I seriously almost did punch him. Who the heck did he think he was, asking Ally out, like that? Before Ally could answer, Emily quickly said, "She'd _love _to." Tyler smiled at Emily, then back at Ally. "Excellent! Can I meet you at that new fancy restaurant with the French name that no one knows how to pronounce?"

Emily again answered for Ally. "Is 7:00 is ok for you?" Tyler nodded. "Perfect. See you then." Tyler glanced at me for the first time, and said, "Oh, hey, James!" Then he left.

Ally looked at me helplessly, but I just sighed. "You know what? Never mind. I'll catch you later, Al," I said, and turned to leave. I now knew why Ally would be trying on dresses like these. I should have known that it wouldn't work out for me to like a gorgeous girl, like herself. There were bound to be other admirers…

"James…wait!" Ally called after me, but I just kept walking. I guess I just found out why they called this a "crush". It was because it could never be possible for the other person to like you, so you get "crushed", or in other words, a broken heart.


	19. Chapter 19 Ally

19-Ally

I watched him walk away. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I don't know what he had been going to tell me, but I knew that Tyler coming and ruining everything didn't help at all.

I glared at Em as soon as I remembered that she had been the one who had said "yes" to Tyler. Emily looked confused. "Whoa…why are you looking at me like that? If anything, you should be happy! I just set you up with a hot junior!"

I shook my head. "But I don't like Tyler!" I snapped. Em raised her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, Ally. I thought you thought that he was cute." I looked at her. "I know you mean well, Em, but…come here. I need to tell you something."

We sat down on some stools near the fitting rooms, and I found it hard to find a comfortable position in this stupid dress. I didn't care though. I needed to tell Em the truth.

So, that was the first time I ever unleashed my secret crush. Of course, I knew Emily would never tell anyone, so that was why I told her….but also because she was my best friend.

Emily's mouth dropped open as I told her. "Oh, god, Ally…I am so sorry. I had no idea." I sighed. "Good…I guess I was really convincing about the whole thing." She shook her head slowly. "But I ruined it. I ruined your chance. James was probably just going to ask you out, or something, and he saw what happened. Oh, my god, I am such a horrible person."

I touched her arm. "Hey, you are not! You are an incredible person. You were trying to set me up with a totally hot guy. Only incredible people will do that kind of thing." Emily smiled a little. "Thanks, Ally."

I smiled back at her, but inside, I felt torn apart. Not about Em, because I had already forgiven her…but the look that had been on James' face when he had left. It was the look that people get when they had just received a broken heart. But I must have just been seeing things, or something. James would _never _ask me out. That was just nonsense.

Em looked at me again, and stood up. "What do you say we get out of these dresses, and go over to Jenna's? Maybe she can hook you up with an awesome dress for tonight. I mean, if you still plan on going."

I nodded slowly, and stood up, too. "Yeah, I'll go. I don't want to just sit around the house and mope. I am going to do this. Maybe it will get my mind off of…James." Just saying his name caused my eyes to water.

Yes, I realized that it would be hard getting over him, because he just happened to be my brother's best friend…so I would be seeing him often. But…to James, I was apparently dating Tyler from the football team. Any chance I had with James, no matter how microscopic it might be, was now gone. And now, as I went into the dressing room to change, I let the tears fall.


	20. Chapter 20 James

20-James

The drive back to my house was the longest drive back I had ever experienced.

How could so much happen in so little time? I was so close to telling Ally my feelings for her, but yet, another roadblock had gotten in the way.

What had I been expecting? For me to tell her that I liked her, and she would feel the same, and we could live happily ever after? Hadn't I realized that life didn't always have happy endings?

_Whatever,_ I thought, and pulled into my driveway. Life was full of disappointments. I guess I had better start getting used to them.

I grabbed the bag with the jeans inside, and walked into my house. There was a note on the table from my mom, that read, "I went shopping, be back by dinnertime. Love you! ~Mom~"

I sighed and went into my room to find something to do, to get my mind off of this. I logged into Facebook on my laptop, but all I thought about was Ally. I looked through my closet, but all I thought about was Ally. I lifted weights, and all I freaking thought about was Ally!

This was driving me nuts. Everything I did made me think of her. It was like…something was telling me _not _to forget about her. I couldn't decide if I should go with this feeling, or keep trying to forget about her.

It was obvious that what I had been trying to do wasn't working. I had been trying for over an hour, and it had felt like days. That was when a very sneaky idea came to me. It was kind of creeperish, but it was definitely worth a shot.

My idea was, I would go along with Tyler and Ally on their date, only they wouldn't be aware that I was coming. I already knew the basics: go to that restaurant I had gone to with Chloe, Mitch and Alicia, and I had to be there at 7:00.

The point of this was to sabotage their date. Yeah, I acknowledged that this was very rude…but I couldn't let Ally fall for Tyler. If that happened, I could never have her.

I suddenly got a text, and I grabbed my phone just to see that it was from Mitch. I clicked on the message icon, and read the short text. "Want 2 do something 2nite?" it said, and I smirked when I remembered what I was going to do tonight. "Sorry man," I replied. "I am laying low, 2nite."

I was aware that I had just lied horribly. Well, it probably would have been convincing if Mitch and I hadn't happened to live right next to each other, but Mitch surprisingly seemed to be satisfied. "OK, man. No problem. I'm going bowling with Alicia, and I was just wondering if you wanted 2 come along."

I smiled and replied, "No, thx. I'll talk 2 u l8er, k?" I closed my phone and smirked. Tonight was going to be…interesting.


	21. Chapter 21 Ally

21-Ally

Emily and I stood waiting outside the door of Jenna's house, about an hour after the whole…incident, had happened. We had knocked just a moment ago, and we could hear her inside, rushing to get the door.

It swung open, suddenly, and Jenna's face appeared. She looked absolutely exhausted, and I felt so bad for her. "Oh, hey guys," she greeted, only half-heartedly. "What's going on?"

Emily shook her head slowly, and ignored Jenna's question. "You look miserable, Jenna." Jenna's arms dropped, and her whole body seemed to lean forward with exhaustion. "I know," she groaned. "I didn't sleep at all, last night. While you and Erin slept, I was starting on the huge mess."

I frowned. I hated seeing my best friend like this. "And how is it coming?" Jenna moved to the left of the doorway so that we could take a look. It definitely looked better, but there were still a few things to be done, such as vacuum up pretzel bits and straighten picture frames.

"Almost all of it is done, but this is all I have to do. I haven't eaten since last night, though, and I haven't taken many breaks." I looked at the clock nearby, and said, "Holy crap, Jenna! You've been working for over 12 hours!"

Jenna yawned. "Yeah…I feel like I am going to pass out any minute." Em and I looked at each other and nodded. We each took one of her arms and led her inside, onto the couch. "Here…you sit there," Emily ordered, and Jenna lay down. "But guys…" was all she said and she instantly fell asleep.

I watched her sink into deep slumber, silently, as I thought about how much she had done. Hosting a huge, out-of-control party, then going hours and hours nonstop cleaning was really too much for a fifteen year-old girl to handle all on her own.

I looked at Em. "Let's clean up the rest of the living room for her," I suggested. Em looked at the whole room as I spoke. "My thoughts exactly," she agreed.

I immediately grabbed a broom and a dustpan (a great alternative to the vacuum, which would probably awaken Jenna) and began to sweep up the pretzels. Emily grabbed a dusting cloth from a closet and began to dust and straighten picture frames.

We finished the room easily, and as I put the broom away, I said to Emily, "Gosh, I wish we had come sooner. Jenna really could have used the sleep." Emily nodded quickly. "I know. Poor Jenna." We stood there and watched her sleep for a few moments before Em announced that we go up to Jenna's room to find me a dress.

I was totally up for it, because Jenna had practically _everything_, from casual to fancy. In fact, when we were younger, we would go up in her room and play dress-up for hours. Even Jenna never seemed to grow tired of trying on her own things.

As soon as we were up in her room, Em and I went straight to the dresses. "Alright…what color do you prefer?" she asked, looking through all of the choices. I shrugged and peered into the closet as Em went through them.

"Oh my gosh!" Em said, and pulled out a gorgeous black dress. I shook my head. "No way, Em! I _refuse _to wear something that short!" Emily laughed, but threw it back onto the hanger, and continued to browse. "Whoa, wait!" I said, sticking my hand into the rack, like a bookmark. "What about this one?"

Emily pulled it out and smiled. "Perfect," she replied, instantly. She held it up in front of me and beamed. "This will be perfect, seriously. And since it's blue, it will go _perfectly_ with your hair."

I grinned and asked, "Alright, how much time do I have to get ready?" Emily glanced at the clock by Jenna's bed, and then looked back at me. "Your date is in exactly four hours. That will be just enough time to do your hair and stuff."

I let out a single laugh. "Four _hours? _To do my hair?" Em nodded and turned me around so that I could exit the room. "And _stuff_," she added.

Emily and I scurried down the stairs quickly but quietly, so that we wouldn't wake Jenna. "Do you think she'll be ok here on her own?" I asked, looking at her. Emily nodded. "Of course! She'll probably be sleeping for hours, and if she wakes up because she is hungry, she can go on into the kitchen, just as always."

Emily opened the door, and we tip-toed outside. Stealing another quick glance at my sleeping best friend, I quietly shut the door behind us.


	22. Chapter 22 James

22-James

There. I was ready.

It had taken me _forever _to finish getting ready; longer than it _should_ take for a person to get ready, I think. And the whole point of going, tonight, was to sabotage Tyler and Ally's date. It wasn't like _I_ had a date or anything…

Hold on, a sec. I guess it _would _be kind of weird if I showed up at a very fancy restaurant, on my own, for no reason…and I knew what I needed, now. A date.

But who? Who would go out on this fake date with me, not expecting to go out again in the future? That was the problem with 99% of the girls at Kingston High School. If you asked them out once, they expect to keep on dating you. I wanted one of that 1% that would do this as a favor. But again, who did I know that would help me out with this?

I wasn't one of those guys that went through girls like babies go through diapers. I mean, I haven't dated many girls. People like Mitch have, and therefore, he knows _many_ girls. He could easily hook me up with a correct girl for this job, but of course, he happened to be Ally's brother…so, asking him was totally out of the question. But then, it hit me. The perfect girl. And she would do it willingly, too! Chloe.

I hated using her, because she had already been used for dates so many times before, but I was desperate. I _had _to get Ally to be mine, no matter what.

Since I unfortunately did not have her number, I was faced with the solution of calling up Mitch for the number. I dialed his number, and waited while it rang. He immediately answered, and I swallowed before talking. "Hey, man."

"James? What's up?" he asked. I cleared my throat before continuing. "Oh, well, uh, can you possibly give me Chloe's number?" I asked quickly, and getting to the point. I could hear Mitch smile over the phone. "You want her number, do you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes…can you give it to me?" Mitch was enjoying this, I knew. He chuckled lightly. "I thought you didn't want to go out with her anymore."

I was growing more and more irritated by the second. I had to leave in less than thirty minutes, and I needed to get ahold of Chloe as soon as possible. I decided to play along with Mitch, thinking I'd get the number faster, if I did.

"Yeah, you were right, Mitch. She's an awesome chick, and I wanna take her out again." Mitch laughed. "So I guess you should listen to me more often, then." I clenched my teeth, just barely holding back my frustratedness.

This conversation thankfully did not last much longer, and I finally received Chloe's number. Rolling my eyes, I began to dial up Chloe. I prayed as hard as I could that she would say yes. Or, at the very least, be at home. I _needed_ to do this.

"Hello?" came the response as soon as she picked up, and I sighed quickly with relief. I was so glad that she was there. "Hi, Chloe, it's James," I explained quickly. "Oh, hi!" she said cheerfully. "How are you and Ally doing?" I sighed. "We're not…" I said, and quickly explained all that had happened.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed after I had finished. "That's not good. But actually, it's probably a good thing that you didn't ask her out while she was all upset like that. Her reaction would be so different than it would be if you asked her while she was in an average mood."

I nodded. "Yeah…that's what I was thinking. But see, tonight, she and another guy are going out. And I…I can't let them get any farther-"You need a date to take, tonight, right? Chloe quickly finished for me.

I stood there, my phone pressed against my ear, speechless. I was almost positive that Chloe was naturally a mind-reader. She laughed at my silence. "If that is why you called, I'd be happy to be your date tonight, James. It's not like I'm doing anything."

I beamed hugely, and said, "Oh my god…thank you, Chloe. Seriously. You're the best." Chloe giggled a little, and said, "Just tell me, fancy or casual?"


	23. Chapter 23 Ally

23-Ally

"Done!" Emily exclaimed at last. "Now, you may open your eyes."

I had been told to leave my shut as soon as we had come to my house, had gotten in my room, and I had no choice but to obey. And what wrong could come from it, anyway?

I lifted my closed eyelids and stared in amazement at the totally different-looking redhead in the mirror. "Oh my god," I whispered. "Is that me?" Emily laughed. "It sure is! Do you like?" She had curled all of my long red hair, and had done all of my makeup.

"Emily…I look so different…" was all I could say next. Emily laughed again, and looked at my clock. "Just in time, too. Come on, we have to get you to that restaurant."

I stood up, but my mouth dropped open. "Crap…I just realized that neither of us can drive…and I can't ask my brother to take me!" Emily held both of her hands up in front of her. "Don't worry; I have that taken care of. _My _brother shall drop you off."

I stared at her in amazement. "You are good," I laughed. She beamed. "I know. Now let's go, or you'll be late. Look, Zach is already out there, waiting."

She grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my room, through the hall, and out the door to Zach's waiting car. He glanced at us, then back me for a double take. "Oh my god, Ally?"

Em motioned for me to get into the front seat. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's Ally. Now hurry, Zach. She'll be late if you don't." I laughed a little, then waved at Emily as we pulled out of the driveway and took off down the road.

I breathed deeply as we drove. "You look…really nice," Zach said, and smiled. I blushed a little, because coming from Zach, he was practically calling me beautiful. "Thanks Zach. Really." He nodded toward me, and for the rest of the ride, we drove in silence.

We pulled up at the restaurant at exactly 7:01, and as soon as Zach parked, he said, "If Em were here, she'd kill me. It's a minute after 7:00." I laughed. "Well, thank you Zach. You didn't have to do this…but thank you."

He nodded at me, and I opened the door, and then shut it. He waved a little at me, then took off. _Here we go_, I said and the stupid butterflies appeared in my stomach.

I walked slowly into the fancily decorated building, and looked around. The hoist smiled kindly as I approached. "How may I help you today?" he asked very politely.

"Hi, I am supposed to meet someone here…Tyler Mitchel?" The host nodded quickly. "Of course. Follow me, please." He grabbed a menu and led me into the fancy dining area.

I saw Tyler waiting at a table near the back, and he seemed to be examining his face with a spoon, like a mirror. When he noticed us approaching, he quickly dropped the spoon, and he stood up.

He looked _really_ good in that tux…but his looks could never compare to James'. If I ever saw James in a tux…I probably would die. "Ally," Tyler whispered, grinning hugely at me, and he touched my arm slightly. "You look amazing."

The host left and I smiled kindly at Tyler. "Thanks. So do you." He pulled out a chair for me, and I was about to sit down when suddenly, a voice exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! Well hey, guys!"

My mouth dropped open when I heard it. It couldn't be…could it? I whipped my head around and gasped. "James?"

He looked at me for a second and stared, but not for long. He turned to Tyler and grinned. "Hey, man. Oh, my gosh…are you two _together_?"

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Yes we are…why?" James laughed loudly, which was very unusual for him. "Oh, well, you aren't really the same type _at all_, so, I never would have guessed."

I raised my eyes widely, and stared at him in shock. That was actually kind of…rude. _James_, my husband in my dreams, just said something rude? That was impossible…

Tyler clenched his teeth. "We are a lot alike, aren't we Ally?" I swallowed, but didn't say anything. James smirked. "W-what are you doing here, James?" I heard myself ask. James moved slightly to the left. "I'm on a date!" I could now see a girl sitting in the corner, and she waved a little at us.

James looked at her, then back at Tyler. "_Fancy_ meeting you guys here! Ha-ha, get it? _Fancy!_" I stared at him, not saying anything. I couldn't believe this. He was being rude, _and _telling corny jokes? What was going on?

"Hey, mind if we join you?" he went on. Before either Tyler or I could answer, he was waving his date over. "Great! This should be fun!" he added.

I looked at Tyler, then back at James. I couldn't seem to process this. I was seeing a whole new side of James that I had never seen before, and I didn't like it. Not one bit.

James pulled two chairs away from a table marked as "reserved" and set them by ours. He pulled one out for his date, and he smiled at me. "Awesome! Now, what shall we order?"

I felt like crying, but instead, I just stared at the table lantern. What the heck was going on with James? He was acting like my brother…and that definitely wasn't a good thing. "Waiter!" he called, loudly. "Can we get some lobsters?"

I put my hands on either side of my head. I refused to believe that this was real life. I was just dreaming, probably. Yeah, that was it. I would wake up any moment, now, and everything would be alright. Except, as the night went on, more and more I realized that this was real life…and so was this change in James' behavior.


	24. Chapter 24 James

24-James

God, I hated seeing her so upset.

I also hated acting the way I was. But how else would I ruin the date? My plan was working, I think, but at the same time, it felt like everything was going wrong.

I was no jerk, yet here I was, acting like one, just to get a girl. Was that the right thing to do? It was hard to know. Right now was not the time for me to work this out, though. It was rather quiet on Tyler and Ally's end, and I used this as another chance.

"It's so quiet, Tyler…you should work on that. I mean, you should if you intend to go out again. Your date might get bored," I said quickly while grinning. Tyler finally couldn't take it any longer. He jumped up, his seat flying behind him.

"That's it! I have had enough, James! I don't know what your damn problem is, but I refuse to tolerate this any longer! I planned on having _just _Ally and me, not Ally and me plus you! You have done nothing but annoy the crap out of me all night, and I have had enough. I'm done!"

Ally suddenly stood up, as well. "Tyler…I'd like to go home now." She swallowed, and stared down at the table, not making eye contact with me. Tyler looked at her, and then said, "Of course, Ally. Let's go."

I looked at Chloe helplessly, because we had to think of something to keep them from leaving, and fast. Chloe suddenly looked out the window and said, "Hey—isn't that your car, getting towed away?"

Tyler's head whipped around to the window, and screamed, "OH MY GOD, NO!" He immediately darted out of the restaurant as quickly as he could, leaving Ally inside.

Ally finally looked in my eyes, but I instantly frowned when I saw the sincere anger and hurt she held there. She shook her head slowly, and rushed out the door, and Chloe motioned for me to follow Ally out. I waved at Chloe a little, and then took off after Ally.


	25. Chapter 25 Ally

25-Ally

All that I was feeling right now was regret. Regret that I had wasted the last few years crushing on whom now was a jerk. I never thought I would ever refer to James as that, but it definitely was the truth, now.

"Ally!" I heard him call from behind me, but I ignored him and kept running. I had memorized every little part of his voice, and I had spent years just daydreaming about it, yet I still never stopped.

"Ally!" James called again, and I quickly made a left turn, not knowing where I was going, but not caring. This road was made completely of dirt and leaves of orange and yellow. Huge maple leaf trees lined the long road evenly and beautifully. Too bad I was so upset right now that I couldn't take time to admire the beauty.

As I made the turn, though, I tripped on a rock sticking right up out of the road, and I fell to the ground, hard. I heard a huge rip, and I knew at once that it was the dress, even without looking at it.

"Oh my god!" James gasped dramatically, and he rushed to my side, just as let the tears fall. "Ally! Are you ok!"

I shook my head, and began to get up. He helped me up the rest of the way, but once I was completely up, I pushed him away. "How could you, James? That was totally uncalled for!"

James looked confused. "For helping you up?" he asked loudly. I shook my head, very much frustrated. "Don't act stupid, James. I'm talking about the restaurant. You were acting like a complete idiot!"

James' eyes got wide, and it was obvious that he was angry, now. "What are you talking about? I was on a date, just like you!" I rolled my eyes. "You wouldn't leave Tyler and me alone, at all! You just made yourself at home, and embarrassed all of us!"

He shook his head. "It's not like you even liked him, anyway…" he muttered. I swallowed and snapped, "What did you just say?" James looked at me. "Oh, please! If it weren't for your friend, Emily, you wouldn't have even gone on that date tonight! Isn't it kind of odd that you have never shown interest in Tyler before?"  
>"How would <em>you<em> know who I am interested in, or not?" I retorted. "You don't know me at all!" James glared darkly at me. "I know you a lot more about you than you think!"

I put my hand on my hip. "Oh yeah? Like what?" He swallowed. "I just know a lot." I let out a single laugh. "Oh yeah, impressive. Well guess what, Mr. Know It All; I know a lot, too! To name a few things about you, you are rude, selfish, conceded, and so hot!" The last part escaped my lips before I could stop them.

James was taken slightly by surprised, but not for long. "Well, you are ignorant, spoiled, and unbelievably gorgeous!" Both of my eyebrows rose, and I swallowed. "Gorgeous? You just called me gorgeous?" He cleared his throat. "Yeah…I did! You are so also sweet, caring, and unexplainably sexy!"

I gasped slightly. "Well guess what? _You _are also…a lot of things!" James laughed loudly. "Seriously? That's the best comeback you could come up with?"

I frowned. "There's too much pressure!" James shook his head. "I'll show you a good comeback." He stepped forward and pressed his lips into mine, strongly.

I was taken completely by surprise, but that didn't stop me. I kissed him back with just as much force, and it was like we were still fighting, except through making out. But the harshness barely lasted long. Actually, almost immediately after I had begun kissing him back, it turned sweet. I was barely thinking; all that mattered at that moment was James and me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck slowly, as we continued, and his arms slipped down to my waist. I don't know how long we were standing there, but it didn't matter. I forgot everything else but him and me.

But then, a thought crossed my mind that angered me so much, I removed my arms from him and my lips from his. I had realized that this was James…and he had been an absolute jerk.

James stared at me, no words escaping his mouth, though he looked like he had something to say. "You!" I shouted, the romantic moment floating away. "You kissed me!"

He smiled only slightly. "I…I kissed you." He continued to stare at me, as id he had been lost in the moment as I had been. He looked in my eyes, and then kissed me again. It didn't last long, though, because I pushed him away. Even though my mind was telling me to resist him, my heart was yearning for more.

James never moved his eyes. He licked his lips and said, "Ally...the whole restaurant thing…it wasn't real." I cocked my head slightly. "What?" I asked, confusedly. He looked down the road in the direction we had come, then back at me. "I realized, recently, that…" he looked in my eyes. "I like you Ally. As more than just a friend."

My mouth dropped open, and I felt my eyes begin to water. I _must_ be dreaming; James would _never _say that to me in real life.

He sighed a little. "The whole restaurant-fiasco…I did it so that I could purposely ruin your date. I'm sorry, but I loved you too much to just let you slip away from me."

I continued to stare at him, breathless. My heart was beating so fast that I couldn't the beats, and I was just realizing that this was real. James was _really_ standing right here, telling me he liked me. No wait; scratch that—had he said that he _loved _me?

"So, you were being a jerk because you were jealous?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. James swallowed, and slowly nodded. I took a deep breath. "Oh…I was way off, then…I thought my brother had hired you to spy on me or something."

James took my hand in his, and looked in my eyes once again. "Never." I swallowed back another round of tears, and took another shaky breath. I was so nervous right now.

James brought a hand up to my face, and tucked a strand of my curled red hair behind my ear. That simple action made me break down, right there, in tears.

James bent down beside me, worriedly. "Oh no…are you ok?" I laughed a little, wiping away some tears hiding under my eye. "I'm _more_ than ok, James. You don't know how long I have waited for you to say these things."

He raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what do you mean?" I laughed again, and quickly explained, "I mean that I have been crushing on you since the seventh grade." Both of his eyebrows rose, then. "Whoa, you have?"

I nodded. "You don't even know, James. I have been dreaming about you liking me, ever since…though I had always doubted that you would _ever _feel the same way about me." James shook his head and wiped a runaway tear from my left eye. "Well, here I am…liking you. So I guess you were wrong."

I laughed, and then looked down. "I probably look so horrible right now; my makeup all over the place." James smiled and said, "You are beautiful. And besides, you don't need makeup to look good. You already are incredibly gorgeous."

I blushed and swallowed. I couldn't believe James was actually standing here, telling me all of these things. It was almost too much to think about.

He helped me up, again, and took my hand. "May I walk you home, Ms. Torres?" I smiled and said, "Of course, Mr. Diamond."

We began to walk, and James and I walked extremely close to each other so that our fingers could intertwine easily and comfortably. James' comment about how he had thought that I was beautiful made me think. How could he ever think that I was even close to pretty right now, when my makeup was probably over my face?

And as for the dress…Jenna was going to kill me. There was no way to repair it, now. There was a huge rip in it, and dirt covered the whole front from my fall.

Normally, I would be extremely self-conscious right about now, but I didn't even give it a second thought. James had said I was beautiful, just the way I was. I still was in shock, but I pretended I wasn't, and squeezed James' hand as we walked home. He looked at me and I looked back at him. In the dim light, I could see his beautiful brown eyes looking into mine. Just being able to look so deeply in his eyes overwhelmed me.

We kept walking, yet our eyes did not return to the road in front of us. Both of us had memorized the whole walk home, and besides, James' eyes were so much more interesting than the dull, plain sidewalk.

Finally, to my huge disappointment, I realized that our houses were there. I at last turned away from James and looked up at the driveway.

James kept his gaze. "Ally…I don't want you to go." I looked back at him. "I'm just next door…" I whispered softly. James looked down, then back at me. "I know. But the time went by much too quickly. I'm not ready to end the night."

I sighed quietly and looked up at the black sky, lighted only slightly by bright stars. "I know…but there's always tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day after that."

We walked very slowly up the driveway to my house, until we came to a stop. There was no more room to walk. James turned to face me, and said, "Goodnight, Ally." I felt like crying as I heard him say that, but kept my emotions under control.

He slowly leaned toward me, when suddenly, we heard an all-too-familiar sound. It was Mitch's car, turning onto the street.

James frowned, looked at me one last time, and then darted into the bushes between his and my houses. I quickly unlocked the door to my house and scurried inside.

I looked out of the window in the living room which showed James' house. I watched James' tall frame sneak into his house, and I sighed deeply. Not only did I have to wait until the next day to see him again, but I also had no gotten a goodnight kiss.

Hearing Mitch's car door slam, I rushed down the hall to my room and shut the door behind me. Immediately after, I opened up my drawers and began to change out of the ruined dress and into some pajama shorts and a t-shirt. Then, I looked at the mirror at my face, and was surprised to see that I didn't have any smudges or mascara-leakage. _Em must have used waterproof makeup,_ I thought to myself.

I opened up my blinds, then, and looked through my window and into James', but it was obvious that he hadn't gotten to his room, yet.

I quickly grabbed my phone which had been lying on the stool nearby, and slid it open, deciding to tell Emily about my wild night. I began to text, "OMG, Em…you'll never guess what happened." But then, I heard a knocking sound. Not the kind of sound you heard coming from wood, like a door, but from glass."

I looked through my window again and saw James in his room, finally, looking back at me. He motioned for me to come over, through the windows.

I couldn't help but smile at him, and held up a finger at him as if to say, "One second." I quickly turned back to my phone and concluded, texting, "Hey…I'll tell you tomorrow, k?" I plugged my phone into the charger, and opened my window just enough for me to get through. Then, I scurried over to James' open window, shivering in the cold.

James smiled gorgeously at me, and then whispered, "You look beautiful." I scoffed and replied, "James…I'm in a t-shirt and shorts." He lifted me up from the ground and into his room with ease. "Exactly," he concluded, quietly.

He closed his window and turned back to me, then said, "I asked you over here because we had forgotten something." I stared at him, waiting for him to continue. In two short steps, he closed the distance between us and he pulled me close. Then, he kissed me gently and sweetly. As soon as our lips parted, he whispered, "The goodnight kiss."

I breathed deeply and laughed a little. "We didn't forget. My dumb brother just ruined our chance." It was James' turn to laugh. "Well…your 'dumb brother' isn't here, now." I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Finally," I said, and we sealed the moment with a kiss.

* * *

><p><strong>Wow...that went by fast :P But what did you think? Haha. It was so much fun writing this, and I absolutely can't wait to write more fics. Thank you all for every one of your lovely reviews. You are the best ever! Loveee you!<strong>


End file.
